Electric beverage can opener



May 14, 1957 Filed June 15, 1956 E. L. HATCHETT ELECTRIC BEVERAGE CAN OPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 4.

INVENTOR. EUGENE L. HATCH-I577:

, 7- TOEME vs ELECTRIC BEVERAGE CAN OPENER Eugene L. Hatchett, Clovis, N. Mex.

Application June 15, 1956, Serial No. 591,654

4 Claims. (Cl. 304) The present invention relates to a device powered by electricity, automatically responding to insertion of a beverage can, such as a beer can, to force into the can a piercing prong for the purpose of forming therein a dispensing opening.

Summarized briefly, the invention includes a housing having, in an L-shaped arrangement, a motor compartment, a drive-and-piercing-mechanism compartment, and a compartment for receiving a can to be opened. Responsive to insertion of the can, a circuit is closed to a motor, simultaneously with unlocking of the mentioned mechanism. The construction includes an eccentric operating a piercing linkage and turning through a single cycle to form the dispensing opening in the can.

While heretofore electric beverage can openers have been devised, the main object of the present invention is to provide a generally improved opener device coming within this category. The invention resides in the drive and piercing mechanism, which has been so designed as to assure eflicient, single cycle operation of the device on each insertion of the beverage can.

A further object resides in the provision of means insuring the maintenance of the can in a stabilized position during the operation.

A further object is to form the device in such a manner that the opening operation proceeds swiftly, thus to permit the opening of the greatest number of cans in the shortest possible time.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views and wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the electric can opener constituting the invention, portions being broken away;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Figure l, the piercing mechanism being shown in full and dotted lines in its normal, rest position and piercing positions, respectively;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the device as seen from the left of Figure 2, a portion being-shown in section; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referrring to the drawings in detail, designated generally at is a support frame or casing, including a horizontal, fiat, L-shaped base plate 12 one end of which is integral with and covered by a motor housing 14 cooperating with the base plate to define a motor compartment 15 in which is mounted an electric motor 16.

At its inner end, the motor compartment communicates with a vertically elongated compartment 17 for a combined driving, latching, and can-piercing linkage generally designated 18. The linkage 18 is enclosed by a housing 19 integral with the base plate and motor cover as shown in Figure '4. At its upper end, housing 19 is closed by a cover 21 (Figure 2) hinged along one side thereof as at 23, the other side being normally anchored to the wall of housing. 19 by a screw 25.

The shaft 20 of motor 16 projects horizontally into compartment .17, and secured to shaft 20 for rotation therewith is a small diameter drive gear 22 meshing with a larger diameter gear 24 the hub of which is rigid with a pinion 26 smaller in diameter than gear 24 and concentric with gear 24. The gears 24, 26 are freely rotatable upon a shaft or axle carried by a bracket 27 mounted within compartment 17.

Pin 26 meshes with a larger diameter gear 28, and rigid with the gear 28 is a small-diameter toothed wheel 30 (Figure 2). The teeth of wheel 30 are widely spaced apart about the circumference thereof, and are approximately rectangular, to define between the same large, generally rectangular notches 31 into which is movable a dog 32 pivoted at 34 upon the marginal portion of a wheel 36 freely rotatable upon the outer end of the motor shaft 20. Limiting swinging movement of the dog in opposite directions is a slot 32 formed in wheel 36 receiving lug 40 projecting laterally from dog 32. A contractile spring 42 is connected between the free end of the dog and wheel 36 and normally tends to urge a tooth 44 on said free end of the dog into one of the notches 31.

By reason of this arrangement, the dog is normally engaged with wheel 30 and as a result the wheel or disc 32 under these circumstances is driven by the gear train comprising gears 22, 24, 26, 28. It may be noted that the gearing constitutes a speed reducing means whereby rotation of the shaft of the motor at its usual speed is translated into rotary motion of the disc 36 at a substantially reduced rate of speed. The gear ratios, of course, can be determined by the manufacturer.

Directly in back of the dog 32, a bracket 46 projecting from the wall of housing 19 supports a locking arm 48 pivotally connected at its upper end to the bracket by a pin 50. Intermediate its ends, arm 48 has a laterally projecting roller 52, adapted to engage the marginal recess 54 formed on disc 36. At one end, recess 54 merges into a cut-away portion 55 of the disc that provides clearance for the roller when the disc is rotated through a single cycle during piercing of a beverage can C.

On its free, lower end, the arm 48 has a longitudinal extension 56 of reduced width, adapted to bear against a projection 58 formed upon the end of the dog 32 that is pivotallly connected to disc 36.

Mounted upon the wall of the housing 19 rearwardly of the arm 48 is a switch comprising normally open spring contacts 60. When arm 48 swings rearwardly from its normal, Figure 2 position it engages the adjacent contact 60 and shifts it into engagement with the other contact. The contacts are in circuit with motor 16 and with a source of electrical power, so that on closing 'of the switch the motor is energized to rotate shaft 20.

'An elongated, straight, horizontally disposed link 62 has one end pivotally connected at 64 to the intermediate portion of arm 48. A closed longitudinal slot 66 in the other end of link 62 receives a laterally projecting lug 68 formed upon the outer end of an inclined finger 70 rigid with a vertical partition 71 that separates the compartment 17 from the beverage can compartment. contractile spring 72 is connected between finger 70 and link 62, normally pulling link 62 to the left in Figure 2 to swing arm 48 to its normal, vertical position in which roller 52 engages in recess 54 to hold disc 36 against rotation. When arm 48 is in this position, further, the extension 56 thereof, being disposed as an abutment in the path of projection 58, prevents dog 32 from swinging into a notch 31 under the pull of spring 42.

Pivotally mounted upon link 62 adjacent slot 66 and projecting upwardly from the link is a pawl 74, normally Patented May 14, 1957 swinging clockwise in Figure 2 under the pull of a spring 76, into engagement with a stop lug 78 carried by the link.

The pawl is disposed in the path of swinging movement of an elongated, depending. arm 80 pivotally connected at 82, at its upper end, to a laterally projecting bracket 84' extending within compartment 17 from. vertical partition 71. Below bracket 84 a stop 86 is integral with partition 71, to limit swinging movement of arm 80 in a clockwise direction (viewing the same as in Figure 2), under the pull of a contractile spring 88 connected between the arm 80 and partition 71.

A fiat, wide plate 90 is pivotally connected to the arm 80 adjacent the lower end of the arm, and is loosely slidable in a horizontal slot 92 formed in the partition 71. At its free end, plate 90 is engageable by a can C that is being inserted in the can compartment 93 of, the apparatus. Therefore, when the can is fully inserted, it shifts plate 90 to the right in Figure 2, swinging arm 80 to the right. Through the medium of pawl 74, link 62 is also urged to the right, swinging latching or locking arm 48 out of engagement with disc 36 into a position closing switch 60.

An elongated operating link 94 ispivotally connected at one end to the marginal portion of disc 36, and at its other end is pivotally connected by a pin 96 to a bifurcated prong support arm 98 piovted at its other end upon a pin 100 extending horizontally within a large opening 101 formed in partition 71. Fixedly secured to arm 98 and projecting. forwardly therefrom within can compartment 93 is a triangular piercing prong 104 which, an rocking of arm 98 from its full to its dotted line positions of Figure 2, is swung downwardly to be'forced into the upper end of the inserted can C.

A lid 106 for the can compartment 93 is hinged at 108 on the upper end of partition 71, and at its opposite sides has depending pins 110 seating, in the closed position of the lid, in sleeves 112' molded upon the opposite side walls 114 of compartment 93.

Side walls 114, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, converge along' curving lines in a direction away from partition 71, and at their convergent ends are formed with confronting recesses 116 (Figure 3) defining a large opening 117 through which the can is inserted. Within compartment 93, at the lower ends of the sidewalls, low abutments 118 are formed, converging along curving lines in a direction away from partition 71 to define between the same a seat for the can. This arrangement insures that the can will be supported stably, in a vertical position, during piercing of its top by prong 104.

Pivotally mounted at 120 upon the base plate 12 is an elongated lever 122 of obtuse-angular shape. Lever 122 is connected to one end of a spring 124 connected at its other end in base plate 12 and tensioned to normally rock the lever counter-clockwise about its pivot axis, swinging movement of the lever in this direction being limited by a yoke 126 of inverted U shape anchored to base plate 12.

At its other end, lever 122 has a sloped nose 128, engageable by link 94. The sloped surface of the nose defines a can surface, which, when disc 36 is positively driven in a clockwise direction from its normal position shown in Figure 2, causes the lever to be biased clockwise into a shallow recess 130 formed in base plate 12; out of the path of link 94. Normally, however, when the disc 36 is no longer under drive, its momentum, as it nears the end of a single cycle of rotation, causes it to move to its Figure 2 position. The momentum is not so great under these circumstances as to cause lever 122 to be biased downwardly, and the lever thus defines a stop in, these circumstances preventing rotary motionof disc 36 beyond its rest position.

The purpose of the lever is to permit the combined forces of. springs 72 and 124 to exceed the pulling. force of spring 42, so that the dog 32 will normally beheld out of engagement with wheel 30. At the'sametimahowever, the use of the spring:v 72 and springbiasedjever 122 permits the shifting of link 62 to the right, responsive to insertion of a can with a minimum pressure from the can. This facilitates the insertion of the can into position to be pierced.

In use, the can is inserted, and operates link 62 to the right in the manner previously described. This permits, simultaneously, dog 32 to move into engagement with wheel 30, locking disc 36 to the drive mechanism for rotation thereby. At the same time, the motor is energized, and disc 36 therefore begins to rotate through the medium of the geared driving connections, clockwisein Figure 2.

Link 94 is thus shifted upwardly, swinging prong 104 downwardly to pierce the can top.

The mechanism operates through a single cycle of rotation of disc 36 and the motor is turned ofi automatically due to the fact that when the link 62 was initially moved to the right in Figure 2 to its maximum extent, the rounded lower end of arm rides over pawl 74. The link 62 is thus free to return to its normal position shown in Figure 2, but during the cycle will not immediately return due to the fact that the roller 52 bears against the unrecessed portion of the periphery of disc 36. The switch is thus kept closed throughout the cycle.

As the disc 36 nears the end of its cycle of rotation, roller 52 begins to move into recess 54, deenergizing the motor and rocking dog 32 to the position thereof shown in Figure 2. Since the wheel 36 is now no longer under positive drive, it will cease rotating when the dog 52 engages in recess 54, simultaneously with engagement of link 94 against the nose 128 of the lever 122. The device is now in a stand-by condition awaiting its next use;

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above since it may be utilized for any purpose towhich it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for opening abeverage can comprising: a support; a disc rotatably mounted thereon; a piercing prong pivot-ed on the support to swing through the top of said can for forming a dispensing opening therein; motion-translating means connected between the disc and prong for converting turning of the disc through a single cycle of rotation into a single oscillation of the prong about its pivot axis; electrically actuated means for driving the disc through said cycle, comprising an electric motor on the support and a drive linkage connected between the shaft of the motor and said disc; a normally open switch controlling operation of said motor; and means actuated by positioning of a can on the support for closing said switch, including an arm pivoted on the support for swinging movement between a first, rest position and a second position in which said arm engages the switch to close the same, and a linkage connected to the arm and shiftable by the. can to rock the. arm to its second position, said arm including a projection and the disc having a recess receiving the projection in the first position of the arm, to normally engage the disc against rotations through said cycle.

2. A device for opening a beverage can comprising: a support; a disc rotatably mounted thereon; a piercing prong pivoted on the support to swing through the top of said can for forming a dispensing opening therein; motion-translating means connected between the disc and prong for converting turning of the disc through a single cycle otrotation into a single oscillation of the prong about its pivot axis; electrically actuated means for driving' the disc through said cycle, comprising an electric motor on the support and a drive linkage connected between the shattof the motor and said: disc; a-norma -lly open switch controlling operation of said motor; and means actuated by positioning of a can on the support for closing said switch, including an arm pivoted on the support for swinging movement between a first, rest position and a second position in which said arm engages the switch to close the same, and a linkage connected to the arm and shiftable by the can to rock the arm to its second position, said arm including a projection and the disc having a recess receiving the projection in the first position of the arm, to normally engage the disc against rotation through said cycle, said disc-driving means further including clutch means on the disc and drive linkage respectively, said arm in the first position thereof holding the clutch means disengaged.

3. A device for opening a beverage can comprising; a support; a disc rotatably mounted thereon; a piercing prong pivoted on the support to swing through the top of said can for forming a dispensing therein; motion-translating means connected between the disc and prong for converting turning of the disc through a single cycle of rotation into a single oscillation of the prong about its pivot axis; electrically actuated means for driving the disc through said cycle, comprising an electric motor on the support and a drive linkage connected between the shaft of the motor and said disc; a normally open switch controlling operation of said motor; and means actuated by positioning of a can on the support for closing said switch, including an arm pivoted on the support for swinging movement between a first, rest position and a second position in which said arm engages the switch to close the same, and a linkage connected to the arm and shiftable by the can to rock the arm to its second position, said arm including a projection and the disc having a recess receiving the projection in the first position of the arm, to normally engage the disc against rotation through said cycle, said disc-driving means further including clutch means on the disc and drive linkage respectively, said arm in the first position thereof holding the clutch means disengaged, said can-actuated switch-closing means further including resilient, yielding means tensioned to bias the arm to the first position thereof.

4. A device for opening a beverage can, comprising: a support; a motor mounted on said support including a drive shaft; a gear train driven by said shaft; a toothed clutch wheel driven by said gear train; a second Wheel freely rotatable upon the shaft; a dog pivoted upon the second wheel and spring biased to a position drivingly engaging the clutch wheel; a switch in circuit with said motor, said switch being normally open; a linkage actuated by insertion of a can into position to be pierced, for movement to a position closing said switch, said linkage normally holding the dog out of engagement with the clutch wheel and normally latching the second wheel against free rotational movement, the linkage when shifted to a switch-closing position freeing the dog for engagement with the clutch wheel and freeing the second wheel for rotational movement responsive to rotation of the motor shaft; and can-piercing means connected to said second wheel for actuation thereby responsive to rotation of the second wheel, said can-piercing means including a prong rockably mounted upon the support for movement through a can top to form a dispensing opening therein, and a motion-translating connection between the prong and the second wheel adapted for converting rotary motion of the second Wheel into rocking movement of the prong through the can top.

Newsom et al. Oct. 26, 1954 Ragan Mar. 15, 1955 

